The paper is focused on the activities of the International Criminal Court during the first decade that passed since its establishment. The author discusses questions of the first referrals, admissibility challenges, definition of crimes against humanity and principle of complementarity, suggesting necessary amendments to the works of the ICC.
This is a review of cases of the International Criminal Court relating to one specific legal issue, namely an acquittal of the accused as well as previously convicted persons. To this end, two specific cases of The Prosecutor v. Jean Pierre-Bemba and The Prosecutor v. Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé have been discussed.
The article analyses the problem of forced passportization of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine by the Russian occupation authorities during Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. This process began as early as the period of the illegal occupation of Crimea and its scale significantly increased with the beginning of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. It is stressed that the forcing of Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship is carried out as part of the Russian authorities’ policy. In this context, we analyse the latest legislation of the Russian Federation which relates to the procedure for granting Russian citizenship by the Russian occupation authorities. Examples of forcing Ukrainians living in the occupied territories to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation through intimidation, threats, and deprivation of basic human rights and freedoms are cited. Forced passportization in the occupied territories of Ukraine, carried out by the Russian authorities, is a violation of the International Humanitarian Law, in particular Article 4 of the IV Geneva Convention of 1949 “On the Protection of the Civilian Persons in the time of war” and Article 4 of the IV Hague Convention of 1907, which prohibits forcing the inhabitants to swear allegiance to the occupying power. It has been established that in contemporary international law, coercion to obtain citizenship of the occupying power does not constitute an independent component of a war crime. It is concluded that such violations of International Humanitarian Law may constitute a war crime and it indicates the need for the criminalization of forced passportization by amending the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is proposed to constitute a new war crime by adding to Paragraph 2 (b) of Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court a new war crime: forcing the inhabitants of the occupied territories to obtain citizenship of the occupying state.
This article analyzes the United States policy towards the International Criminal Court while focusing on the selected legal issues. The author starts with an introduction to the history of international criminal prosecutions, in particular — the creation of the International Criminal Court. It discusses alleged inconsistencies of the Rome Statute with international law, legal effects of the US signature of the Statute, as well as domestic and international actions of the US regarding protection of its citizens and regulating the cooperation with the ICC. In conclusion the author argues that it is unlikely that the US will rectify the Rome Statute.
This review of case law provides a brief description of two important legal developments before the ICC from January to June 2022, that is the decision to initiate pre-trial proceedings in the situation of Ukraine in connection with the mass victimization resulting from the Russian aggression in February 2022, and the decision on the claims for damages brought by Charles Blé Goudé under Article 85 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
PL
Niniejszy przegląd orzecznictwa zawiera zwięzły opis dwóch istotnych zdarzeń w obrocie prawnym przed MTK od stycznia do czerwca 2022 r., tj. wydania decyzji o wszczęciu postępowania przygotowawczego w sytuacji Ukrainy w związku z masową wiktymizacją, która nastąpiła wskutek rosyjskiej agresji w lutym 2022 r., oraz decyzji dotyczącej roszczeń odszkodowawczych za „bezprawne oskarżenie” wniesionych przez Charlesa Blé Goudé na podstawie art. 85 Statutu Rzymskiego MTK.
Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine has sparked a discussion on the possibility of prosecuting on the possibility of prosecuting those responsible for international crimes committed in this war. The subject of the article is an analysis of the provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC in terms of their possible prosecution. The presented considerations answer the question what actions could be attributed to the Russian soldiers taking part in the invasion of Ukraine. The possibility of prosecuting the president of the Russian Federation was also presented and it was pointed out that performing the function of the head of state does not exclude his individual liability. By the way, it was noticed that the actions of the Russian troops in Ukraine are very similar to the methods used by Serbian soldiers during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
PL
Zbrojna napaść Rosji na Ukrainę zapoczątkowała dyskusję o możliwości postawienia w stan oskarżenia osób odpowiedzialnych za popełnienie zbrodni międzynarodowych w tym konflikcie. Celem artykułu jest analiza przepisów Rzymskiego Statutu MTK pod kątem ewentualnego ich oskarżenia. W rozważaniach udzielono odpowiedzi na pytanie, jakie czyny mogłyby zostać przypisane żołnierzom rosyjskim biorącym udział w inwazji na Ukrainę. Przedstawiono także możliwość pociągnięcia do odpowiedzialności karnej prezydenta Federacji Rosyjskiej i zwrócono uwagę, że pełnienie funkcji głowy państwa nie wyłącza jego indywidualnej odpowiedzialności. Zauważono też, że działania wojsk rosyjskich w Ukrainie są bardzo zbliżone do metod, jakimi posługiwali się serbscy żołnierze w czasie wojny w Bośni i Hercegowinie.
In March 2012 the ICC delivered its first and long-awaited judgment in Prosecutor v Lubanga. Trial Chamber I found Thomas Lubanga guilty as co-perpetrator of the war crimes of conscripting and enlisting children into the armed forces. The guilty verdict was followed by a reparations decision on 7 August 2012. This article examines the extent to which the ICC has successfully fulfilled its mandate to formulate reparations principles. The position of reparations within international law generally is discussed. This is followed by an explanation of how the ICC reparation regime functions. The bifurcated reparations mandate of the ICC is also explained. The focus of the article is on a critical assessment of the Lubanga reparations decision. The Court’s treatment of the harm requirement and the requirement of causation is examined. It is argued that the Court’s failure to clarify the requirements of “harm” and “causation” meant that it did not fulfil its mandate to formulate reparations principles.
W ciągu ostatnich 50 lat na świecie wybuchło ponad 250 konfliktów i zginęło ponad 86 milionów osób cywilnych, głównie kobiet i dzieci. Ponad 170 milionów ludzi pozbawionych zostało godności, praw i dobytku. O większości ofiar zapomniano, a tylko w minimalnym stopniu zbrodniarze wojenni zostali osądzeni. Istnienie w prawie międzynarodowym wielu postanowień zakazujących zbrodni wojennych, ludobójstwa, zbrodni przeciwko ludzkości, ochrony dóbr kultury, a ostatnio agresji nie stanowi skutecznego środka do respektowania prawa. Do dziś brakuje sprawnego systemu egzekwowania tych praw oraz pociągania do odpowiedzialności karnej indywidualnych sprawców.
EN
In the last 50 years more than 250 conflicts broke worldwide out and killed more than 86 million civilians, mostly women and children. Over 170 million people have been deprived of their dignity, rights and possessions. The majority of the victims were forgotten, and only a few war criminals were tried. The regulations existing in international law, which are prohibiting war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, protection of cultural heritage and, most recently aggression are not effective and not respected. To this day an effective system of enforcing those rights and bringing the individuals responsible for it to justice does not exist.
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